Hungary. A birding weekend in the Zemplén Hills and the Hortobágy Puszta. 6-7 August 2016

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1 Hungary A birding weekend in the Zemplén Hills and the Hortobágy Puszta 6-7 August 2016 Our principal quarry, the (Eastern) Imperial Eagle, a ubiquitous reminder of the iconography of Habsburg dominion The quest for eastern European raptors was the primary motivation for a weekend tour of eastern Hungary on 6 and 7 August 2016 (targets: Imperial and Lesser Spotted Eagles and Saker Falcon), in addition to the chance to see the Great Bustard in its open plains habitat. The tour produced all of the most wanted species, and despite the high summer season, even added a couple of unexpected surprises... All travel was self-arranged with flights into Vienna and then a hire car from Vienna Airport. The itinerary allowed for a leisurely tour through Slovakia (and overnight in the High Tatra mountains Nutcrackers plentiful) and into Hungary from Košice. The return road trip to Vienna was via Budapest. Our base was the comfortable Balmaz Spa Hotel in the town of Balmazújváros, centrally located in the northeastern plain region of Hungary (the Puszta). I pre-arranged the services of two local bird guides through Saker Tours:

2 Saturday, 6 August: Zemplen Hills I met my guide, Zoltan Petrovics, at 08:00am in the town of Tarcal to begin a day tour of the foot hills and later forested hills of the Zemplen range. Zoltan is a senior park ranger employed by the Hungarian forestry service. Our primary target was the (Eastern) Imperial Eagle, Aquila heliaca, which was readily found at a monitored nesting site. Two birds, an adult male and a juvenile were sighted perched in a tall poplar. On approach, they took flight, but allowed us to get good views and Zoltan pointed out the aerie. Active nest site of the Imperial Eagle Adult Imperial Eagle in flight (poor light)

3 According to Zoltan, heliaca has been successfully recovering from hunting pressure and insecticide poisoning with more then 160 pairs currently recorded in Hungary (from only a dozen or so pairs in 1990). It was exciting to see the birds riding the mid-morning thermals, but they disappeared quickly from sight as they soared to a great height. In the same area we also observed (Northern) Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard and Common Kestrel. Next stop was to a recently ploughed field where we quickly saw Lesser Spotted Eagle, Aquila pomarin, hunting on the ground. The bird was wary and quickly departed: A distant view of the Lesser Spotted Eagle in flight

4 In the agricultural lands around the eagle site, we saw good numbers of: Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, Starling, House Sparrow, Magpie, Raven, and Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrike, Lanius minor. My guide, Zoltan, on return from a successful reconnoitre of an Imperial Eagle nesting site Next stop was the forested hills of Zemplen where we entered a closed copse which held an extraordinary number of woodpeckers: Green, Grey-headed, Middle-spotted and Great-spotted. Almost all the trees appeared to host woodpecker holes. Zoltan was surprised to discern the call of a less common species, and we soon had good views of a White-backed Woodpecker, Dendrocopos leucotos, tapping on a large oak tree. An even bigger surprise came in the form of a group of Jays that were making a huge ruckus on the hillside. Zoltan suspicions proved correct when a Ural Owl, Strix uralensis, materialized and flew around us, landing close-by. The bird continued to be harrassed by mobs of jays and nuthatches and eventually flew off out of range. The spectacle of this large bird bursting out of hiding in a tree just above one s head was a memorable experience indeed! We continued to bird the forest adding the more common species: Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Hawfinch, Treecreeper and Great, Blue and Marsh Tits. A welcome addition was the Collared Flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis, in addition to the much more common, Spotted Flycatcher.

5 Forested slopes of the Zemplen hills - a magnet for woodpeckers and owls! At a lunch stop by some harvested wheat fields, we heard the calls of Common Quail almost at our feet. Our clumsy attemtp to flush some birds however was ultimately unsuccessful. Also seen was a Common Pheasant crossing the roadway. The weather was very hot (37C) but we persevered, birding some of the forest and grasslands adjacent to the renowned Tokaj vineyards. Thus far unrecoreded species encountered were: Crested Lark, Skylark, White Stork, Common Swift, Hoopoe, Roller, House Martin, Redstart, Magpie, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Bee-eater, Roller and Serin. My tour included an unexpected and expert introduction to the Tokaj grape varietals

6 In the evening, we visited two abandoned quarries, hoping to track down the haunt of the Eagle Owl. To this end, we were unsuccessful, but did get distant views of four juvenile Black Storks on their nest high on a rocky ledge in the quarry: Black Stork young on their nest With light fading, we called it a (successful) day. In total, 51 species, of which six were personal lifers. Imperial Eagle at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

7 Sunday, 7 August: The Hortobagy Puzsta I met my guide, Jozsef Kecskes, at my hotel at 07:00 to begin a day s birding of the expansive plains of the Hortobagy, (which start almost on the outskirts of Balmaz). Main targets today were Saker Falcon and the Great Bustard. Jozsef on the look out for the Saker Falcon Not far from the entrance to the national park, we came to a lone tree which was host to a colony of Red-footed Falcon, Falco vespertinus. Jozsef noted that an estimated 60 pairs used the tree as a breeding site on an annual basis. Hunting over the fields we could also see: Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Kestrel and Whiskered Tern. Periodically, honking flocks of Greylag Geese would fly over. Nearby, we came to a shallow marsh which was host to a large number of waders: Spoonbill, Lapwing, Green and Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Black-headed Gull, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Greenshank and Ruff. We then staked out a site near a grid of tall electricity pilons looking for the Saker Falcon. An hour s search however was unsuccessful, but we added new birds to the list: Crested Lark, Whinchat, Stonechat, Cattle Egret, Rook, Wood and Domestic Pigeons, and a gaggle of Guinea Fowl, the latter foraging in corn fields. In the light woods nearby, we also found Whitethroat, Blackcap, Black Redstart and the usual Magpies, Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrikes.

8 Early morning view of the Lesser Grey Shrike, in its habitual hunting position from electricity wires Jozsef decided to change tack and we headed into another area on the border of the national park. After a few minutes search, we had a group of twelve Great Bustard, Otis tarda, actively feeding as a group in an open field. The view, while distant, was superb and through the scope one could see Bustards displaying in what was probably practice play by the juveniles. Two of the larger males led the group. For the next two hours, we stopped by the roadisde at various points hoping to see the Saker. Jozsef was of the view that the periodic strong wind gusts might have affected the birds which proved frustratingly elusive. We later stopped at a well-known birding site behind the Bibic Nature Lodge (which was reputed to be a good point from which to observe Red-breasted Geese, among other winter migrants, in November). The marsh at Bibic was full of birds, including: Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans, Shelduck, Mallard, Great Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Moorhen, Grey Heron and White Stork. In addition to the very common Pied Wagtails, we saw a pair of smart Yellow Wagtails.

9 Caspian Gull, adult and juvenile But enough of wetland birding, we needed the Saker! Our next stop, a roadside pull-over, finally revealed a lone Saker Falcon, Falco cherrug, perched very high on a pilon. The scoped view clearly showed the brown back, pale head and narrow moustache of an adult bird. According to Jozsef, there were six pairs of cherrug in the Hortobagy, most of which had successfully reared a brood over the past season in the nest boxes placed on the pilons by the conservation agents. The electricity pilon where the Saker Falcon was found

10 Having seen all of our primary target species, we called it a day at 13:00. In all, 53 species were seen in six hours birding on the Hortobagy, including three personal lifers: Saker Falcon, Great Bustard and Caspian Gull. My sincere thanks to Zoltan and Jozsef for making the tour a memorable experience. The Habsburg Eagle, in all its glory (Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace) David Karr Geneva, 15 August 2016 davidwkarr@gmail.com